Out of Place
by SecretlyAWritter
Summary: What if Petunia married someone else? What if they raised Harry as one of their own? What would change and what would stay the same? Harry takes on Hogwarts and faces the challenges of growing up, as well as the challenges brought on by Voldemort… No Romance until later chapters…..
1. Chapter 1: Redemption

Read and Review people! The more you review, the more I'll post...

Chapter 1: Redemption

Petunia Elwin looked at the bundle before her apprehensively, a letter clenched tightly in her hand. _Of course Lily would do this to me,_ she thought quietly to herself. After finding the child on her doorstep, she quickly picked up the boy and brought him inside, careful not to wake him. Setting him on the coffee table carefully, she pulled the yellowish envelope with green ink from his bundle and read it.

She had to suppress a cry. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up the child. She looked from Harry to a picture frame resting on the table next to him. In it were three people, a young, blonde family, all smiling. Murphy, Petunia's husband held a little girl of three, her little girl of three, while Petunia wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and rested her pointy chin on his bony shoulder. She could tell Teagan had been squirming, for she looked like she was trying to escape the loving clutches of her father. _Typical_, Petunia thought to herself, smiling.

She looked at the intruder on her coffee table once more. If I'm to take him in, he would stick out like a sore thumb, she thought bitterly, his hair stands out too much. What will the neighbors think? Petunia felt a small kick in her belly and looked down at her swollen, round stomach. _I have my own family to think about, too, after all. A daughter, a husband, and a son on the way, how will we take care of three children, all so young?_

She knew what her husband would think. He would tell her that the boy would stay, and that they could handle whatever challenges would occur. He was strong like that. Yet, Murphy had no idea about the true nature of her sister. Would she have to tell him the whole truth? Would he be angry with her for deceiving him for all the time they had been together? Murphy held honesty above all other traits; what would he do?

_Well_, Petunia thought, _I wouldn't have to tell him, I suppose_. Petunia immediately saw the holes through that plan. After all, Lily had married someone like herself; it would only be natural that this child would be the same way as them.

The boy squirmed in his blankets, and Petunia stared, intent on him. He cooed a couple of times, just before opening his eyes.

Petunia gasped.

"Lily-" she whispered, looking into the bright green eyes in Harry's tiny head. At that moment, Petunia felt a rush of emotions come to her as the ghost of her sister ran through her head. Petunia had grown up looking into those eyes, and then resenting those eyes. Now that Lily was gone, she missed those eyes, yet here they were, in front of her.

She knew what she needed to do.

The baby began to whimper and Petunia reached out, and took him into her arms, "Shh. It's okay, little one." She stood up and paced around the room with the baby in her arms, gently rocking him. Looking at him, she gasped once more as she laid eyes on an angry red scar, shaped like a lightening bolt. She didn't know how she could have missed it in the first place. She traced it with her finger and he cooed in response. She wondered if it hurt.

Petunia looked into his eyes again, and began to weep silently. Her sister, her Lily, was gone from this earth. And the last thing Petunia had said to her was "_You freak._" Now Petunia felt nothing but regret and sorrow for the sister she had lost, yet, in her arms was her redemption, her ticket to forgiveness from Lily.

She was so engrossed in this child that she hardly heard the bottom step creak as her husband stepped onto the landing.

"_What the devil is going on?_" said her husband from behind her. Petunia turned around, the baby in her arms, and looked at her husband, whose jaw seemed to drop further than humanly possible.

"We need to have a talk about my sister."

**_10 years later_**

"Teagan! Flynn! Harry! Breakfast!" Petunia called up the stairs. With her blonde hair in a tight bun a top of her head, Petunia walked quickly back into the kitchen, where she was frying eggs and sausages for her family. Her husband, Murphy, made tea and poured orange juice into glasses, just before sitting down and reading the paper. Petunia put sausages, eggs, and toast onto five plates and placed each of them on a placemat at their round table.

Finally relaxing, she sat down and sighed a breath of relief. Her husband looked at her, "Are we going to take the kids to the zoo or the movies today?" Petunia looked back at her husband. Today he wore a baby blue, short-sleeved, button down shirt and khaki slacks. His black, thick rimmed glasses were a bit crooked on his nose today, for some reason, and his thinning, blonde hair was combed neatly, though the back of his head was untidy, as he never thought to comb the back. Petunia, who herself was dressed in her typical sundress and pearls, smiled, "I think the zoo. I don't really want to sit in the theater today."

Just then three children burst into the kitchen, arguing about something trivial. The three off them took their normal seats, Harry next to Murphy, Teagan in between Harry and Flynn, and Flynn, next to his mummy. Petunia smiled at her two children and nephew, but all those years ago, Petunia had been right: Harry stuck out from their family like a sore thumb. Teagan and Flynn had blonde hair, that curled in little ringlets, just as her husband's had when he was young, while hair had jet black hair which refused to look neat, no matter how hard Petunia tried. She had attempted to cut it short, but it seemed to grow three times as fast as the other children's. Teagan and Flynn had pale blue eyes, just like she and their father had, while Harry's green eyes, behind a pair of round glasses, seemed to glow. Yet, it was those eyes that made Petunia love Harry in the first place.

She watched as he tore into his eggs, only eating the whites and saving the yolk for toast. Neither of her children did the same, nor did she or her husband; Petunia wondered where he had picked up the habit.

"Zoo today, kids!" Murphy announced, proudly. The boys whooped, and Teagan frowned a bit.

Teagan, who was going through her I'm-too-cool-for-everything phase, crossed her arms. Seeing this, Murphy stepped in, "What's the matter, Teags? Don't you want to see the monkeys?"

"I get enough of that at home from these two, thanks." She said, gesturing towards the boys on either side of her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Harry, leaping up into his chair, in an ape-like manner, and began eating sausages with his hands. He beat his chest. Flynn started giggling, as did Murphy.

"Not at the table, Harry." Petunia snapped, raising her eyebrows at him. When Harry looked at her, she gave him a wink. He sat down and wiped his hands on a napkin, "Sorry, Aunt Petunia."

Petunia nodded and smiled, "It's okay, little ape."

* * *

Harry was up in his bedroom, changing his clothes for the day. He looked at himself in the mirror, trying to pat down his spiky hair. It didn't work. Harry sighed, changing into a t-shirt and jeans. He looked around his room that he shared with his younger cousin, Flynn. In the bedroom was a bunk bed (Flynn had chosen the bottom bunk, as he had a tendency to sleep walk), various games Flynn and Harry played on a regular basis, and a stack of books Harry read before going to bed. On the walls were posters of favorite football players (Flynn and Harry played on the same team, though Flynn more than Harry, as Harry had learned he wasn't very coordinated on his feet), and a couple of pictures of the family as they grew up.

Harry looked at these pictures. The first was of him, Teagan, and Flynn, when Flynn had just been born. Baby Harry had no glasses, but his jet-black hair still stuck out in every which way and his green eyes still seemed to glow. He sat next to his cousins, Teagan's curly hair pulled into pigtails, while she carefully held a newborn Flynn. Harry wasn't even looking at the camera, but pointing somewhere else off to the side.

Next was a picture of the Flynn and Harry holding hands as toddlers at the beach, wearing matching swim trunks and hats, Teagan off to the side, smiling with an ice cream in her hand and on her face.

The last picture was more recent, and of all five of them. A professional had done this one. This one was out in their garden. Petunia and Murphy sat on a bench while the three children stood around them, smiling at the cameraman. Harry remembered this day, well. Petunia had made them all wear very nice clothing, which Harry proceeded to ruin with Flynn as the wrestled in the grass just moments later.

In these photos, you could see that they were a happy family, yet Harry felt out of place every day. Teagan and Flynn were almost carbon copies of each other, and their parents, Harry's aunt and uncle, looked no different either. Harry, on the other hand, looked completely different, and he thought differently, and acted differently, too. On the one hand, Harry was not extraordinarily good in school, while Teagan and Flynn received top marks without trying very hard. Harry always fell behind in football, while Teagan and Flynn both played as strikers on their teams, often receiving MVP trophies and ribbons. Harry was pretty good at track, however, and did win races occasionally, but Flynn and Teagan also ran track, winning ribbon after ribbon after ribbon. Not to mention, Flynn and Teagan were both pretty popular at school, while Harry struggled to find someone who wasn't afraid to be his friend (one bully in particular, some rudder named Dudley, had marked Harry as his enemy from the first day they had met, and no one dared disagree with Dudley). He had Flynn at school, but they only saw each other for moments at a time, as they were at separate levels. Teagan went to a different, all-girls secondary school. Luckily, Harry would be starting his next term at a new secondary school for boys. Unfortunately, Flynn wouldn't be there.

Harry sighed, looking at the photo for a bit longer. He was grateful to his aunt and uncle, yet he longed for his own parents, too. Harry had asked his aunt once about his parents, knowing his mother had been her sister. When he asked, Petunia immediately began stammering on her words, and tears welled up in her eyes. Feeling badly for making his aunt sad, Harry walked away and never asked again. The next day, however, Petunia told him that his parents were killed in a car accident, which explained his scar.

Harry loved his scar, which was often hidden behind a stray tuft of jet-black hair. He looked at it, and admired it, then tried to flatten his hair again, to no avail.

"Teagan! Flynn! Harry! Breakfast!" Harry heard Aunt Petunia call from downstairs. Harry went downstairs, where a plate of eggs, sausage, and toast was waiting for him.

* * *

The zoo was crowded that day.

Harry Potter and the Elwin family walked around in the heat, trying to look at the various animals through the thick crowds. When they entered the cool, reptile's chamber, the crowd thinned out. Harry could actually look at the animals now. He and Flynn wandered over to the snakes, lazing in their chambers as people pressed their noses to the glass.

"Look how big it is, Harry!" cried Flynn, pointing at a massive Brazilian Boa Constrictor. Harry ran over to press his nose against the glass and look.

"Whoa… Do you reckon it could squeeze the car in half" said Harry to Flynn.

"Probably." They sat there, staring at it, until Flynn got bored, which didn't take very long. He ran over to look at some iguanas while Harry kept watching the snake. He felt very drawn to that spot for some reason.

"Do you reckon you could squeeze Dudley in half?" whispered Harry somberly.

The snake nodded at him. Wait, that couldn't be right.

"For a moment there, I thought you could hear me." Harry laughed because it was so ridiculous.

The snake slithered closely to the glass with surprising speed, and stood (however snakes can stand) to look at Harry. Harry jumped back with surprise.

Its tongue whipped back and forth out of its mouth, like it was trying to hiss. Harry could swear he heard muffled words coming through the glass. Harry, though a little frightened, approached the glass again- then the worst thing happened.

"Well, well, if it isn't wee Harry Potter." Harry turned to see the massive Dudley Dursley behind him. He was with a gang of his friends, who often held Harry while Dudley hit him, or made a wall for Dudley to take Harry behind so the teachers wouldn't see Dudley use Harry as a punching bag. "Shoulda known the only friends you could make were spineless." He sniggered. His gang laughed behind him, their arms all crossed.

Just then, Flynn walked up and stepped in front of Harry. Despite their close age, Flynn was considerably smaller then Harry in height. It was quite ridiculous to see Flynn trying to defend Harry from the tall, fat Dudley.

"You leave him alone." Said Flynn, his fists clenched.

Dudley and his gang laughed at Flynn, "Listen, you runt. Today's my birthday so I bloody well will do whatever I please. Now, get out of the way."

Flynn held his ground. _Oh, please don't be stupid Flynn. Leave, please,_ thought Harry. "Harry never did nothin' wrong to you. So shove off"

That did it.

In a flash and with a dull thud, Flynn was on the ground holding his nose, which was bleeding profusely. Harry took one look at Flynn and one look at Dudley, and leaped at Dudley. "You- bloody- wanker!" shouted Harry as he tried to land a hit on Dudley. It was stupid, but Harry felt protective of his cousin. Just as quickly as Harry jumped on Dudley, he too was on the ground. He was clutching his stomach, as Dudley had punched him hard in the gut.

At that moment, Harry wished more than anything in the world that he could fight back.

Suddenly, the glass from the boa constrictor's chamber vanished. Dudley and his gang shrieked as the snake quickly slithered out. Harry watched as the snake wrapped himself around Dudley's leg for a moment and then playfully snap at the other's heels.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he watched his foe jump around and scream. The snake, having done its job in frightening them, turned to Harry. Thankss for the chat.

Harry's eyes widened. That was definitely not normal.


	2. Chapter 2: Unexplained

Keep Reading and Reviewing!

Chapter 2: Unexplained

Explaining what had happened at the zoo wasn't an easy task; especially since Harry had no idea what happened either.

It didn't help that Dudley Dursley's immense father tried to pick a fight with Murphy, accusing Harry and Flynn of bullying 'poor' Dudley. Murphy, a tall, but very lanky man, retorted once to the large man, but quickly backed off as Mr. Dursley's face turned beet red.

The car ride home was quiet; all that could be heard were the nervous sounds Petunia, Teagan, and Flynn made, a family trait the two children had obviously inherited from their mother. For Flynn it was a gentle click he made with his tongue, while Teagan chomped loudly on gum. The matriarch tapped her fingers on any surface she could find, her long, manicured nails making an annoying, staccato tapping noise.

Harry would have been more annoyed, but his head was elsewhere.

He couldn't get the vanishing glass off of his mind, nor could he forget what the snake told him- no, that wasn't right- what the snake's hissing sounded like. Yet, Harry knew that the snake had indeed said _something _to him.

There were other times unexplainable things had happened around Harry, too.

Once, when he was younger, he was playing out in the garden with Teagan. Harry lie on the ground, looking at the clouds with Teagan, trying to decipher the strange, changing shapes. Harry remembered feeling extremely happy, even so for a child. When he stood up, little white flowers had sprouted in the grass where his body had been, outlining his shape, perfectly. Teagan had pointed it out, "Look, Harry! The flowers look like you!"

It happened another time while Dudley and his gang chased Harry around the schoolyard. Harry, who was particularly good at climbing, scrambled up a tree to the topmost branches. Seeing that his pursuers were going to wait for him to come down from the tree, Harry became terribly angry. Suddenly, without explanation, dozens of little leaves, falling from the tree, transformed into buzzing insects, and descended upon the gang of bullies. Dudley's gang ran away, shrieking in horror and swatting at the leaf bugs.

On a separate chasing occasion, Harry was hiding from Dudley. When his gang had finally located him, Harry found himself looking up to the roofs, wishing he could hide up there, where Dudley couldn't reach him. Running, he turned a corner and closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, he was up on top of the school roofs, watching Dudley's gang scratch their heads in confusion over where Harry had gone. This incident was a double edged-sword; for he escaped the wrath of Dudley, but received detention for climbing onto the school roof, which none of the teachers could quite explain.

Luckily, Petunia and Murphy were so confused as how Harry had climbed onto the roof, that they forgot to punish him, which was really what Harry feared the most- disappointing his aunt and uncle.

This is what Harry contemplated on his way home from the zoo; how in the world was Harry going to explain the vanishing glass?

When they reached their home, Teagan jumped out as quickly as possible (probably to go use the phone and call one of her tween friends), while the rest of the family lethargically trekked back into the house.

Petunia and Flynn both went into the kitchen so Petunia could examine his nose, leaving Murphy with Harry. Once inside, Harry tried to slip past his uncle so he could go to his room and perhaps escape his dilemma with a book. Right now he was reading C.S. Lewis' _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, which Harry adored. He loved the idea of escaping, the idea of just slipping through a wardrobe, and entering into a completely new world where odd things were the norm, and magical things happened. As Harry started up the stairs, his uncle called his name.

"Er- Harry?" he said, nervously.

Harry swallowed, "Yes?" He turned to look at his uncle.

"I think we should have a chat, yes? Come sit with me in the front room." He turned and walked towards the front room, and Harry followed.

The Elwin's front room was a tad bit gaudy for Harry's taste, to say the least. The fluffy couch and armchairs were upholstered in matching, bright pink, floral print, while a glass coffee table stood in between the seats. On the coffee table were about a dozen pictures of the family, all squished onto one half of the table, while the other half was occupied by an elaborate vase filled with flowers (which needed changing, as the petals were beginning to brown and fall). The white carpet, which Petunia vacuumed everyday, devoid of any scuffs or dirt, was the pride of Petunia. For she never allowed any man, woman, or child in that room with shoes on their feet. In the room, there was also a marble fireplace, rimmed with gold accents, which could have worked but looked incredibly tacky. On the mantle sat dozens on little glass figurines that Murphy had collected as a child, and put on display, with two matching vases, filled with roses sat on opposite ends of the mantle. The room was made even more floral by the wallpaper and drapes, which both had some type of pinkish floral print on them. Needless to say, Harry didn't spend much time in this room, nor did anyone else, because he always felt that he was drowning in a sea of old, pink flowers.

Harry suspected Murphy chose to sit in that room for just that reason. No one would be coming into that room unless they were expecting guests or asked to go into that room.

Harry sat on the couch, while Murphy sat in a poufy armchair, looking very nonplussed.

"Harry-" he began, but Harry interrupted.

"Uncle Murphy, I have no idea how the glass disappeared, I swear. It wasn't my fault, I promise. I'm really sorry that Mr. Dursley got angry with you because of me, I really didn't mean to do anything wro-"

"Whoa, Harry." Murphy laughed, "Slow down." He smiled warmly, "I'm not here to question you about what happened with the glass, I know you can't explain what happened, and I don't expect you to know. And don't worry about Dursley, I'm a grown-up, too, let me handle the grown-ups."

Harry made a half smile, "So I'm not in trouble?"

"Goodness, Harry, why would you be?"

Harry sighed, "I don't know." Though he was relieved, a part of him wanted Murphy to acknowledge that the vanishing glass was his fault, because Harry couldn't shake the feeling that it _was _his fault.

"Is anything bothering you, Harry?"

"No-" Harry, lied immediately, almost speaking too quickly. "I mean, nothing really."

"Are you sure?" Murphy inquired further.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, I've noticed this Dudley boy has become quite an issue for you, lately."

"Oh!" said Harry, finally understanding what this conversation was about, "Well, yes, he has been."

"He bullies you at school?" asked Murphy, leaning towards Harry.

"Well, er- yeah." Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"There's something I want you to know, Harry," said Murphy, his voice determined, "when I was your age, I was bullied too, quite regularly by one boy in particular, Ronnie Hartman." Murphy shook his head, remembering Ronnie, his school bully, "The point is, people are going to try and knock you down in life Harry. Certainly, Ronnie was always there to make sure I knew that. But, Harry, I want you to know how important it is to always get back up, no matter what knocks you down. On that same note, I want you to always remember how important it is to forgive your enemies, too-"

"But, why?" Harry interjected. He certainly didn't want to forgive Dudley. Dudley had never given Harry a break, so if Harry ever had the upper hand, why would he ever be merciful to Dudley?

Murphy let out a small chuckle, "Would you agree that when you do something challenging, it makes you a better person in the end?"

Harry nodded.

"It's easy to hurt those who hurt us. It takes a strong boy, a strong _man_, to forgive those who have hurt him. It makes you a better man, Harry. Always forgive-"

At that moment Petunia called from the kitchen, "Murphy! Will you come look at Flynn's nose? I think it may be broken-"

Murphy sighed and stood up. "Well, give your uncle a hug before you go run off-"

Harry suppressed a laugh, and hugged his uncle very briefly before running up the stairs to his room, forgetting his shoes downstairs.

The next week passed by slowly. It was getting bloody hot outside, so Harry and Flynn found themselves playing inside more often than usual.

Flynn had indeed, broken his nose and had to wear a funny looking bandage on his nose, which Flynn had asked Harry to color bright green. Unfortunately, the green on his bandage occasionally rubbed off onto Flynn's face from sweat, giving Flynn random green spots on his face. Petunia hadn't been very happy about this.

One Tuesday afternoon, Harry and Flynn played cards in their room with the window open to let a breeze in.

"Whoa! Look at that huge owl, Harry!" said Flynn, pointing out the window. Harry rushed to the window, only to see nothing.

"Where?" asked Harry, squinting out the window.

Flynn joined him by the window, "Hmm, I could have sworn I saw a great big brown one-"

The door burst open. It was Teagan. "Flynn, Granny is here to take us shopping for school supplies."

"But it's only half-way through the summer holiday!" Flynn protested.

"You know Granny. She pays for our supplies every year and she likes to get them early." Replied Teagan, looking at her finger nails.

"It's ridiculous, that's what it is," muttered Flynn under his breath.

Harry moved to grab his shoes, but Teagan interrupted, "Mum says she needs to speak with you in the kitchen, Harry."

"Am I not coming, too?" Granny was Murphy's mother, but she adored Harry as much as any of her other grandchildren. Usually Harry joined them on their ill-timed school supply trip.

"Mum says she needs to talk to you," replied Teagan.

A knot formed in Harry's stomach. What could it possibly be? Teagan had seemed pretty serious, but then again, Teagan always seemed serious lately.

Harry walked downstairs with his cousins and waved them goodbye from the door. Granny Elwin blew him a kiss, which he pretended to catch and stuff in his pocket. Closing the door, he turned around and took a deep breath.

Harry walked into the kitchen where Petunia was sitting at the kitchen table with a pot of tea and two teacups. In front of her, on the table, was a letter.

"Harry, dear," she smiled, "sit. We need to talk." She gestured to the seat next to her, where Murphy usually sat.

As Harry sat, Petunia poured him a cup of tea. Harry looked at the letter, which was facing upside down. On the back was a red seal, stamped with a crest with four animals in each corner, a lion, a snake, a badger, and an eagle. In the center was a large H. Petunia pushed the tea towards Harry, which Harry took, and sipped.

Petunia poured herself a cup, smiling slightly, though not very much. She added two sugar lumps to her tea and stirred.

"It's about your parents," she said, looking into Harry's eyes.

All Harry could muster out was an, "Oh-", as he was shocked. Harry's stomach did a sort of back flip.

"There's something-" Petunia hesitated. Harry could tell she was uncomfortable by the ways she played with her teaspoon in her hands, "There's something you need to know about them that I can't quite explain, because, well- er-" She looked away from him, towards the wall in the opposite direction, "Well, I can't quite explain it, because, honestly I don't fully understand it, myself."

Harry's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. He didn't want to miss a word, because he heard so little about his parents. "Okay," replied Harry, "Go on, then."

"They weren't quite- _normal,_ you see."

Harry's heart sank, and he slumped into his chair a little bit. Petunia, seeing this, quickly repaired her wording, "It wasn't bad, though, dear. You mustn't think I'm trying to be rude. They were fine people, just of- er- abnormal circumstance."

"Well," said Harry, feeling impatient, "What is it then?"

"Harry, they were- they were" Petunia seemed to be choking on the words. She was staring at her tea.

"Aunt Petunia-" said Harry. Petunia turned to look at Harry, "What is it?"

Petunia looked into Harry's eyes and sighed, "They were wizards, Harry."

Harry stared blankly at Petunia, half expecting her to jump up and yell, "Gotcha!" But something about Petunia's face made him think she was being completely honest. Harry wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. Instead, he sipped his tea.

"And you are, too." She added.

Harry, who was still sipping on his tea, choked and coughed, spilling tea onto the table. Petunia dabbed up the liquid with a napkin, before it could spread around the table.

"I know this must be shocking, but I swear it's the truth." Said Petunia, folding the napkin into a neat square. She looked at Harry, who was still looking at her with disbelief. Somehow, he found his voice.

"So are you a- a-" Harry stuttered.

Petunia laughed, "No, my dear boy. I'm afraid I'm as non-magic as they can get. Your uncle and your cousins are non-magic, too."

Harry felt confused, but somehow, everything began to make sense. Every unexplained moment began to explain itself; the vanishing glass, the leaves turning into insects, the flowers- it all made sense. "Wow." Said Harry, a faint smile coming across his face.

"I know," said Petunia, "I never thought magic was real until my sister- your mum- got her letter."

"Her letter?" said Harry curiously.

"Oh yes," Petunia handed him the letter with the red crest on it, "and here is yours."

It was addressed to him in green ink; Mr. H. Potter, The Top Bunk, Number 31 Hemmingway Landing, Little Whinging, Surrey. Harry's eyes widened. The thick, yellowing parchment in his hands felt right. For the first time, he was glad he was different from the Elwins. For the first time, he felt like he was being called home.

Eager, he opened the seal and pulled out a folded letter on the same yellowing parchment as the envelope. The green writing in the letter matched that on the envelope.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCH CRAFT AND WIZADRY

HEADMASTER: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry enthusiastically read the letter to Petunia and then looked at his school supplies list with her, examining the odd things he needed for the term. Excitement and nervousness filled his body.

In the letter, Harry found another small piece of paper.

Dear Mr. Potter,

As you have grown up in a household kept by muggles, we will send an ambassador to help you find your school supplies and explain Hogwarts to your family, should you require assistance.

An owl should be waiting for your reply.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry looked at Petunia, confused, "What are muggles?"

Petunia laughed, "Perhaps we should call for that ambassador."

Together, Petunia and Harry wrote a reply to Hogwarts and found the owl, which the letter had referred to. It stuck out its leg, and Harry awkwardly tied the letter around it. Petunia kept looking around the neighborhood, seemingly nervous that any neighbor should see them tying a letter onto the leg of an owl.

Harry couldn't help but agree; it was quite odd.

Back inside, Harry and Petunia sipped on their tea, which was still warm.

"Now Harry, I know you're excited, but I still don't know how we are going to tell your cousins." Petunia said, quite seriously.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, unsure how telling his cousins the good news could case any implications, whatsoever.

"Well, I'll be honest with you Harry- and I hope you don't hate me for saying so- but when your mum got her letter, I hated her for it." Harry's heart skipped a beat, "I was so jealous, and so angry that Lily was special, while I-" Petunia paused, "While I was unspectacular."

"You're afraid they'll be jealous?" asked Harry.

Petunia nodded, "I don't know that they'll understand, as well."

Harry stared at his empty teacup, the happiness fading from this moment, "Does uncle Murphy know?"

Petunia smiled, "Yes, I told him the night you landed on our doorstep."

Harry felt uncomfortable, "Aunt Petunia, why was I on your doorstep?"

However uncomfortable Harry felt, Harry could tell that Petunia felt worse, "Your parents- they died in an accident."

"Yeah," said Harry, "A car accident you said. Do wizards drive cars?" said Harry curiously. He had always been under the impression that wizards and witches used magic carpets and broomsticks to travel- at least, that's the way it was in most of the stories he had read.

Petunia laughed nervously, "Er- yes. Yes, they do."

Harry nodded. It was obvious that Petunia had no idea, yet Harry had no idea why his aunt was lying to him. He let it go, seeing how much he had already asked of Petunia and how uncomfortable she was.

The kitchen door burst open, and Teagan and Flynn came in carrying bags of pencils, pens and books for their next term. Flynn, being nosy as he was immediately noticed Harry's letter, "What's that you've got here, Harry?"


End file.
